Mika's Hocus Pocus
by frankies95
Summary: Everything seems to be going on as usual in Mika's life. Her parents are still always busy, she still has no friends, and things still break around her whenever she gets emotional. Then, she gets a prank letter inviting her to a school for magic. But, what if the letter isn't a prank?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One - Letter**

THUNK!

The girl pulled the covers over her head, and tried to get back to sleep. Just as she thought it was over, the noise came again.

THUNK!

She pulled the pillow over her head, and wished they'd just go away. She was used to this kind of thing. She wasn't a popular kid around here. She wished people would stop doing that, but wishing wasn't getting her anywhere. It didn't help that weird things constatantly happened around her. Things she wasn't completely in control of…

THUNK!

Now she was starting to get angry. Wouldn't they ever go away? Why couldn't they leave her in peace? Or was that too much to ask?

THUNK!

She snapped. "STOP IT, YOU IMBECILES!" she screamed as loud as she could. The effect was kind of spoiled by the pillow, which muffled her voice. She threw it across the room and screamed again, "WHY CAN'T YOU PEOPLE JUST LET ME BE?"

THUNK!

"Urrrrrrgh!" she growled. Somewhere upstairs, she heard a bulb burst. Oh, not again, she thought. My parents will kill me...or not. They probably didn't care enough. Another 'Thunk,' and she was out of her bed and opening the window.

"If you don't …!" she stopped in mid-sentence. There was no one outside her window. What magic is this? she thought. A blurry movement on the edge of her vision caught her attention, and she looked up just in time to dive for cover as something round and feathery cannoned through the window and ricocheted off the opposite wall.

After taking a moment to calm down, the girl slowly looked up from the (thankfully) soft pink carpet, in search of whatever it was that had cannoned into her room. When she saw it, her jaw dropped. It was a magnificent live owl with black spots dotting its light brown feathers. It looked dazed, and was rocking slightly back and forth on its scaled feet, kind of like a tree during a storm.

There was something attached to its right foot. The girl slowly got up and cautiously crept towards the owl, never taking her eyes off of the bird. She stopped an arm's length away from it, and crouched to examine its leg. The thing attached to it was a carefully folded parchment. _A letter sent by owl? _she thought? _Now that's new. _Warily, she extended her arm to the letter. As if on cue, the owl extended its right foot, surprising the girl. _It must be trained, _she thought. Then it lost its balance and fell over.

She chuckled a bit at the clumsy display, and untied the parchment from the owl's leg. Then, whle the owl tried to get back upright, she proceeded to study the parchment. One side of it was blank. She turned it over. Something was written on it. She unfolded it once, so she could read the inscription that said;

**To: Mika Elena Wanders**

She sighed and unfolded the parchment. _Let's see what stupid prank they've come up with this time, _she thought. She read the letter.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL _of_ WITCHCRAFT _and_ WIZARDRY

Headmaster: SERENA MACQUOID

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Member of the Wizengamot,_

_Former Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizar__ds)_

Dear Mika Elena Wanders,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Favian Tyrrell

She turned it over. There was more on the other side of the parchment.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL _of _WITCHCRAFT _and_ WIZARDRY

UNIFORM

First-year students will require:

1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)

2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

4. One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)

Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags.

COURSE BOOKS

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

_The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)_

by Miranda Goshawk

_A History of Magic_

_by Bathilda Bagshot_

_Magical Theory_

_by Adalbert Waffling_

_A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration_

_by Emeric Switch_

_One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_

_by Phyllida Spore_

_Magical Drafts and Potions_

_by Arsenius Jigger_

_Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_

_by Newt Scamander_

_The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection_

_by Quentin Trimble_

OTHER EQUIPMENT

1 wand

1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

1 set glass or crystal phials

1 telescope

1 set brass scales

Students may also bring, if they desire, an owl OR a cat OR a toad.

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS

ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICK

Yours sincerely,

Mathilda Thomonsicle-Pocus

Chief Attendant of Witchcraft Provisions

Mika stared at the letter for a few seconds, and then read it again. Her heart beat picked up. Something was wrong. It couldn't be anything but a prank, but it didn't feel like one. Her gut feeling told her it was real. She sat down on her bed, and contemplated the letter, ignoring the owl which was now back on its feet and hooting indignantly. _The letter is legit, _her gut told her. _Look, there're even two different signatures_. _Signatures can be faked, _her common sense retorted. _How many pranks have you received so far? Do you really want to fall for another one?_

Suddenly, she laughed, startling the owl, which ruffled its feathers and hopped a step backwards. "Of course this is a prank," she said aloud. "Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, my foot. I mean, what on Earth is a Mugwump? It's obviously made up."

She looked at the letter again, and something caught her eye. "We await your owl by no later than July 31," she read aloud. "So, you want me to respond, huh? Well, you'll get your response."

She jumped out of bed, picked up a sheet of paper, and proceeded to write a note;

Whoever you are, this isn't funny. Stop trying to prank me, or I swear, I'll find out who you are, come to you, and magic you off to the center of the Bermuda Triangle. I'm warning you, BACK OFF!

Satisfied that the letter would scare off whoever sent this prank, she folded it, and turned to tie it to the owl's leg. _If it found its way here, it'll find its way back, _she thought. However, it turned out that was easier said than done - the bird had perched itself atop her wardrobe.

"Oh, come on!" she exclaimed. "Get down here, right now."

The bird didn't move. She tried screaming at it, it didn't budge. She made cat noises. Nothing. She tried being gentle. The owl only watched her with its huge, black eyes, as if it was enjoying the spectacle. She even considered throwing something at it, but stopped in time to realize that if it got hurt, it wouldn't be able to fly back. After a few more minutes of this, she let out a growl of frustration.

"Alright, you stupid bird. If you won't come down, _I'm _coming _up. _And when I do, one of us is sooo not going to be happy." With that, she stormed out of the room, closing the door quickly behind her in case the owl tried to follow her, and raced down the stairs to the kitchen. A minute later, she returned with a chair in her hands. _That'll teach it, _she thought smugly.

However, when she opened the door to her room, the owl was sitting on her bed. "Why you little…featherball," she spat angrily. She was about to dive for it, but then changed her mind and cautiously approached it. Just as she was about to reach for it, it hopped onto her hand and pecked her.

"Ouch!" she shouted. "Stupid bird." The owl pecked her again. Cursing loudly, she hit it. It hooted loudly, and dug its talons into her hand. Mika screamed, and hit the owl again. All that did was make it dig its talons even deeper into her hand, and bring tears to her eyes.

"Owww! Stop it, stop it!" she screamed at the bird.

The owl, apparently having had enough of the screaming, let go of Mika's hand and flew onto her desk.

Mika sat down onto the floor and placed her injured hand in her mouth, wiping the tears with her other hand. After a while, she got enough courage to try again. This time, the owl obediently stuck out its leg when she brought the letter close to it, and she tied it without any problems.

"OK, now get out."

The owl stared at her for a few seconds, and pecked her screamed and heaved the owl out the window, then closed it before the blasted bird could fly back. She turned around and examined her hand. It was bright pink, and the scratches from its talons were bleeding slightly. She stifled a sob and headed towards the kitchen, where the first aid kit was kept, while the hungry and ruffled owl flew into the horizon.

* * *

A week later, Mika was watching tv in the downstairs living room. When your parents were rich, they may be away most of the time, but the chairs were always comfortable, and the reception was always perfect. However, her mind wasn't on the television screen, which was showing a rather gruesome movie scene, but on the prank letter.

The owl didn't come flying back, and Mika took that as a sign that her response scared the pranksters off. But still, she couldn't help wondering what it would be like if it were a real letter. For one thing, it would explain all the weird stuff that seemed to happen around her all the time. Well, not all the time. Mostly, it just happened when it was angry. Then, things tended to blow up, or simply go missing. And everyone always suspected that she did that intentionally. She tried explaining herself before, that it wasn't her fault, that she couldn't do anything about it, but that just made people skeptical and scared of her. She wasn't allowed to go near any of the science labs, every mishap in school was blamed on her, and, worst of all, she had no friends. She knew that there were a few kids who wanted to be friends with her, but they were scared of being shunned by the whole school, so they never approached her.

A loud scream from the tv set interrupted her musings, almost causing her to jerk her injured hand, which had been carefully bandaged by Lydia the househelp, who had made quite a scene when she saw the state her 'little Mikki's poor hand' was in. Within seconds, Lydia's bulky frame rushed into the room, huffing loudly.

"What was that, Mikki? Did something happen? Are you alright? Is your hand hurting you?'

Before Mika could put in a word, Lydia noticed the tv screen. "Oh no, no, no," she said. "Kids shouldn't be watching horror movies. Bad for your mind, it is. What if your parents found out you watched something like this?"

"They wouldn't care."

"Oh, come now, sweety," Lydia said, changing the chaneel to one showing a cartoon. "You know your parents are busy, but they really do love you."

Mika sighed and looked out the window.

Lydia stopped bustling for a second to catch her breath. "Now, don't do that. If you think you should be spending more time with your parents, why don't you just tell them so? I'm sure you can work something out." Then, she disappeared in the direction of the kitchen.

As soon as she was gone, Mika switched the channel back to the horror movie, and lowered the volume. Lydia always said that whenever Mika got moody about her parents. Mika never told them anything. She enjoyed the solitude. It had become her natural element, and frankly, she had nothing in common with her parents. All they ever talked about was business and business trips. She felt they had no interest in her whatsoever. They just provided her with what she needed because it was good for their image in the business world.

Suddenly, the phone rung. Mika walked across the room towards it, and picked it up on the fourth ring.

"Hello?"

"Mika? That you?" her father's cigarette-stained voice rasped at her through the earpiece.

"Yeah, what's up?" she said, feigning cheerfulness. That way, there'd be less questions.

"There's uh… been a sort of change of plans, kind of… we'll be coming home today instead of next week. Today afternoon. In about four hours, actually." He sounded kind of strange. Usually, he was much more precise, and didn't stutter. _Probably a deal went wrong, _Mika thought without emotion.

"OK," she said. "See you."

At the other end, the phone clicked as her father hung up. _Wouldn't have hurt him to say 'see you',_ she thought. Just then, someone knocked, no, banged on the door. She waited a few seconds to see if Lydia would hear it and come see who it was. She must've been upstairs, because she didn't come running to the door. Another bang on the door made her shout "Just a minute!" and rush to the door.

She opened the door, and gasped.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two - Visitor**

Standing in the doorway was the hugest monster of a man Mika had ever seen. He looked like Bigfoot's father wearing a coat. She had to peer out from under the doorway to see his face, which was partly hidden by a mane of messy brown hair that reached down to his shoulders and tangled with his equally messy and long brown beard. She stared at him for quite a while before he finally noticed her.

"Ah, there yer are," he said in a gruffy voice. "An' here I was, thinkin' no one was home. Wait a bit, lemme make sure I got the right house. I'm lookin' for…wait a sec." He rummaged for a long time in his pockets, until he finally produced a bunch of papers. He searched through them, and then exclaimed happily when he found the right one. "Aha! Found yer! I'm lookin' for…" - he squinted at the piece of paper, and slowly read out - "Mika Wanders."

Mika just gawked at him. _He's twice as tall as my dad! _she thought. _Should I run? Should I call Lydia for help? Wait, what can an overweight old lady do against someone this big? If he wanted to, he could singlehandedly tear down the house!_

"Hello! Yer know how to talk?" the giant was saying, waving a hand in front of her face.

Mika could only nod.

"I said, I'm lookin' fer…" he swore and squinted at the paper. "Mika Wanders."

"That's… that's me," Mika stammered, her heart pounding. A scary thought had just occurred to her – what if this was the guy who sent the prank letter, coming to get her for her cheeky reply? Suddenly the warning she sent back didn't seem like such a good idea anymore.

The giant beamed, his black eyes glinting happily. "Good, good," he said, pocketing the piece of paper. "I've been lookin' all over for yer. Been to about five other houses already. Not all of them were hospitable, mind you. It's my fault, really, though. 's just like me, to lose the address."

He looked around. "Yer parents not home yet, I s'ppose?"

Mika shook her head. "The uh, the househelp's home, though," she added hurriedly. No need to make him think she was home alone. Again, not that Lydia would be of much help in case he got violent.

Just then, Mika heard Lydia's voice. "Mikki! Where are you? You know I get worried when you disappear like that without a word."

"I'm out here, Lydia!" Mika shouted back, feeling slightly relieved. "There's a… very big man outside. You know him?"

"What? Honey, didn't I tell you not to open the door…" – Lydia emerged from the doorway and her gaze fell on the huge man – "…to strangers." she finished meekly.

"Hello! The name's Hagrid," the big man said cheerfully. "I was supposed to meet the girl's parents here, but I guess I came too early."

Lydia managed a small nod, her mouth still agape.

"Well, I guess I'll invite meself in, if yer don't mind," he said, and bent down to walk through the double doors, causing both girl and woman to jump aside in alarm. They shared a glance, and hurried after him into the living room, where he sat heavily on a sofa (causing it to creak dangerously), and stared curiously around the room, as if he'd never seen anything like it before.

"Would you like something to drink?" asked Lydia, who seemed to have somewhat regained her composure.

"Thanks, thought ye'd never ask," Hagrid smiled.

As Lydia hurried to the kitchen, Mika studied the man.

"Who are you?" she asked.

Hagrid gave her a puzzled look. "Didn't I tell yer? I'm Hagrid. Rubeus Hagrid."

"Yeah, you've told me that already, but that doesn't tell me _who _you are."

"Ah, yer mean that. I'm groundskeeper, and teacher."

"A teacher? Where?"

"Where, where. Hogwarts, that's where."

Mika opened her mouth, and then closed it. _Hogwarts! Wasn't that the name of the school the prank letter was supposed to be from?_

Just then, she heard the clang of breaking china. She turned towards the sound, and saw a flustered Lydia standing beside a broken cup and small plate, a puddle of coffee spreading from it.

"I'm so… I'm so sorry," the old woman muttered. "I'll just… clean it up and…"

"Don't worry, I got it," said Hagrid. Then, before she could protest, he fished a pink umbrella from one of the numerous pockets in his coat, and waved in the general direction of the broken cup. The pieces of broken china scattered all around the room.

"Ooops, my bad. I'll just… fix that," he said, and waved the umbrella again. This time, when he was done there was no sign of the mess before, just a cup filled with coffe on a small plate. Lydia and Mika stared at it, then at the pink umbrella, then at Hagrid, their mouths hanging out.

Mika was the first to regain control of her voice. "H-how… w-what… what was that?"

"What do yer think?" Hagrid replied. "'s Magic, of course."

By the time her parents got home, Mika had her head full of stories of Hogwarts and magic. She wasn't intimidated by the giant of a man anymore – he had turned out to be quite a friendly person. But most of all, she was excited to find out that there were other people like her, that all the strange stuff that's been happening around her was actually normal for a witch – yes, that's what she was, a witch – and that the letter was real, and she was actually admitted to a school for people like her. Finally, here was a chance for her to fit in. A chance for her to get away from her boring, friendless life and immerse herself in a world full of wonders and surprises.

"Mika isn't going, and that's that," said Mika's father, lighting up another cigarette.

"Now, don't yer go around saying no to this. Hogwarts is a great school, full of other kids like yer daughter. She'll fit right in, and she'll learn to control her magic. Who knows what'll happen if it gets out of hand?" Hagrid tried, for what seemed like the hundredth time, to reason with him.

"Robert, honey, you know Mika doesn't have any friends here. Who knows, maybe this Hogwoss place - "

"Hogwarts," Mika and Hagrid corrected her mother together.

"Right, maybe she'll be able to make some friends there. And anyway, if it doesn't work out, we could hire home tutors to make up for the lost year."

Mika snorted inwardly. Her mother knew her father wasn't going to accept the offer. She was just acting, for Hagrid and Lydia's benefit. It wouldn't do her good if people went around saying how she doesn't give a rat's rear end about her daughter's welfare. Not that she could blame her, really, since she was, when it came down to it, the same as her – a brilliant actor.

Robert Wanders snorted. "Laura, you know as well as I do that our daughter is an actress and a drama queen. Of course she has friends, just that they're all the wrond kind, which is why she doesn't want us to see them."

Mika felt anger rising inside her, but a shouting match with her dad wasn't going to get her into Hogwarts, so she pretended to ignore the comment. _Think, _she thought furiously. _What could I do that would make them let me go?_ That was when she noticed something. Hagrid's expression had hardened, and he was watching her parents with obvious disbelief, and, was that a hint of disgust she saw in his eyes?

Mika smiled inwardly as a plan formed in her head. Maybe she didn't have to convince her parents after all.

As her mother started to open her mouth to say something, Mika interrupted sullenly. "Oh, stop pretending as if _you _care. You're just as bad as dad."

"Don't talk about your parents like that," her father snapped at her.

Her mother looked lost for words for a second. Mika took advantage of the momentary silence to push on.

"Maybe I wouldn't talk like that if you were better at it! When's the last time any of you has been home for more than 3 days? There wouldn't have been much difference if I lived with Lydia. At least, she's always around."

"Mika, you know that your mother and I have very important business to-"

"And is that business more important to yer than yer own daughter?" Hagrid cut him off quietly. All eyes shifted to the large man. _Yes! It's working, _Mika thought triumphantly, fighting off the urge to smile. Instead, she tried to look grateful to the giant who was going to get her sent off to learn magic.

"That business is what is providing for this family," said her father, who was now on the defensive. "How else do you think we'd be able to afford her the things she needs?"

"We already have all we need. You're just greedy and selfish, always wanting more and more and more," Mika said. She knew this wasn't going to sit well with her parents, but they were away so often, she figured it wouldn't matter. "You're always concerned with nothing but money. Meanwhile-" she took a few theatrical breaths before continuing, in a forcibly unstable voice, "-all I wanted was to spend some time together, you know? With actual people, since I don't have any real friends and all. Is it so hard to just spend one week with your own daughter?" Mika sniffed. The last part was actually true - it was hard, spending all her time alone. She wished everything was different, but she knew it wasn't going to change. Until now, and she wasn't going to let that chance get away.

"That's it!" Hagrid pumped a fist on the table, causing the china and silverware to jump almost a foot into the air. "I'm not lettin' 'is poor child suffer at your hands anymore," he said, standing up and rummaging in his pocket. "Mika is going to Hogwarts, and the two o' yer are _not _goin' ter try an' stop her, or Merlin help me, I will turn the both o' yer into pigs!"

Both adult Wanders stared in shock as Hagrid produced a parchment and slammed it in front of them.

"Sign this."

"You can't force us to do this, you know," Robert Wanders said.

Hagrid leaned in over the table until his face was inches from Robert's. "I can, an' I will, if yer make me. Now, sign this," he whispered menacingly.

Mika's father shakily took a pen from and signed the parchment. As soon as he was done, Hagrid snatched it away from him and turned to leave, his unbuttoned coat knocking a chair over. He took a few steps forward, and turned towards Mika. "Oh yer, almost forgot. I'll be comin' next week to help yer get yer things." Then he turned towards her parents. "If yer do anythin' funny, I'll know, an' you'll regret it fer a long time." Then, he stormed out of the house.

Mika watched the giant's back as he left, a small smile struggling to break through her forced blank expression. She turned and saw the expressions on her parents' faces. All traces of the smile vanished. _Uh oh, _she thought. _This won't end well._


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three – Platform 9 and ¾**

Mika's parents had caused quite a scene after Hagrid left. She ended up being grounded for a year. Then her parents left on another buisness trip three days later, and the first thing Mika did was go out to the arcade, where she spent hours playing pacman. She wasn't so lucky on the day Hagrid was supposed to pick her up to buy the things she needed for her Hogwarts. Her parents had returned the day before, and they stood as firmly against the idea as before.

"You're not going anywhere!" they said firmly.

Then Hagrid showed up, did some yelling and umbrella waving, and then pulled Mika past her protesting parents and out into the street. After some awkward silence, Mika asked, "How did you get here?"

"You'll see. 's not far from 'ere," Hagrid said conspiartionally.

And she did see. It was a gigantic motorcycle, parked in the woods about half a mile from her house. "She's smoother than she looks," Hagrid said. Mika seriously doubted that.

He got into the driver's seat, causing the motorcycle to sink down so the bottom was almost scraping against the floor. "What are yer waitin' for? Get in," Hagrid said, eyes tingling with what Mika guessed was mischief.

"Are you sure this thing's safe?" she asked.

"Of course it's safe," Hagrid smiled reassuredly. "It's been in use for decades."

_Great, not only does this thing look like it's in need of some serious repairs, but it's also old. _Mika gulped and tentatively got into the passenger car. Hagrid sarted the engine, whose roar almost made Mika go deaf. Then he shouted something she couldn't hear, and stepped on the gas, causing the motorcycle to lurch forward, and then tilt up and fly out into the sky. Mika held on for her dear life and tried not to throw up as Hagrid whooped and shouted more things she couldn't hear. When they landed about three hours later, the girl practically fell out of the passenger car, and had to restrain herself from kissing the ground like a sailor.

The gamekeeper just beamed at her and said cheerfully, "Great ride, eh?"

* * *

The visit to Diagon Alley was both intimidating and exciting for Mika. She was amazed when a brick wall opened up at a few taps from Hagrid's umbrella to reveal a huge market, but she was even more amazed when she got to see what kinds of things the market held on display. There were cauldrons, potions, broomsticks at which people ogled, a weird assortment of animals, wands, weird coloured powders with putrid smells, and books with titles like 'Quidditch for Beginners' and 'Ripley's Guide to Dragonkeeping.' She was surprised when she found something as ordinary as ice cream being sold by an old balding man beside a shop which had an unidentifiable, pleasant scent emanating from its door and windows.

First, the two went to the bank. It was a magnificent building with the word 'Gringotts' emblazoned in gold above its entrance. Mika stared in unmasked wonder (and fear) at the goblins that ran the bank. Hagrid and a goblin with a name Mika couldn't remember led her to a vault with a small pile of gold, which Hagrid explained was a grant by the Ministry of Magic to those who came from non-magical parents, like herself. Once she learned about the magical currency, and saw the price of the goods on sale, she realised it wasn't as much money as the thought. She'd have to spend carefully.

Mika's shopping memories were kind of fuzzy – she spent most of the time ogling the things on display while Hagrid picked out what she needed and babbled on and on about what each item was used for. She did remember picking out the wand and the cat.

She got her wand from a middle aged man whose last name sounded like a combination of 'Oliver' and 'wand'. There were lots of pictures of men with similar facial features hanging on a wall in the dusty shop. The shopkeeper explained that his family produced many wandmakers. In fact, his father was widely regarded as the best wandmaker of his generation. The man examined her hand carefully, and then picked out about a dozen boxes. He opened them all, revealing a wand in each box (Mika was disappointed – they looked like ordinary sticks. But the wandmaker handled them carefully, so they must've been special.)

"Go on, try them out," he said, rubbing his hands together, something Mika noticed he did often. "You have to find one that feels right," he added.

Mika picked the wand from the closest box. She waved it, and sparks shot out of it. She dropped it in surprise. The wandmaker gasped, and rushed over to pick the wand up. He gingerly inspected it for damage, and then placed it back in the box. "You will have to pay for any damaged wands," he said coldly.

Mika apologised, and picked out the next wand. This time, she wasn't surprised when sparks shot out of it. She went through the wands methodically, placing them back once the sparks shot out, until she reached the 11th box. She picked up the wand. It felt comfortable, and sort of warm. She swished it in the air, and a weasel appeared right in front of her. She gasped and backed away, but it disappeared in a few seconds. She turned to look at Hagrid and the wandmaker.

"Looks like you have found your wand," the Mr. 'Oliver-Wand' said, perhaps a bit less warmly than Mika expected. "

Choosing the cat was much quicker and simpler. The moment they entered the shop, Mika spotted a cage and ran straight to it. Inside it was the cutest cat Mika had ever seen. It was almost purely white, with 3 brown spots along its back. It stared at her with huge green eyes that almost made Mika squeal.

"Yer want this one, huh?"

"Yes, yes, pleeeease? He's so cute!"

"You sure you don't want an owl? Much more useful, owls," Hagrid said with a bemused expression.

"No way, the last one I met scratched me. See?" she said, showing him the fading scratch marks. "You can still see them."

"Cats have more claws than owls," Hagrid remarked sensibly, but Mika's attention was already back on the cat. "Alrigh', yer can have 'im," Hagrid sighed, rolling his eyes.

"I'm naming you Blanket!"

* * *

Mika wanted to let Blanket out of his cage as soon as they got home, but then she saw her parents' expressions and decided to do it in her room instead. She put her other things down on the floor, and opened the cage. Blanket sniffed around a bit, then cautiously walked out of the cage, looking around the room with keen eyes.

"Ohh~ you're so cuuute!" Mika swooned. Blanket gave her a blank stare, then stretched. Mika picked him up and hugged him. The cat licked Mika's cheek, and that was it. Mika was in love. She put him down, and crooned about how she was going to take care of him while she stroked his fur, Blanket purring happily all the while.

"Wait a minute, I'm just going to get you a bowl. Then, I'm going to feed you till you can't swallow anymore," she beamed at him. The moment she opened the door, a white streak flew out of her room and down the stairs. Mika stared wordlessly after it for a moment, and then gave chase.

By the time she reached the bottom of the stairs, she could hear screams and the sound of things falling, breaking. They were coming from the kitchen. She rushed there. Lydia was sitting on the floor, broken plates scattered around her, while Blanket jumped from window to window. _Thank God it's raining and all the windows are closed, _Mika thought.

"Here, Blanket," Mika said soothingly. "Don't be scared. Nobody's gonna hurt you." Blanket turned his black nose towards her, hissed loudly, jumped over her and sped off towards the living room. Mika cursed and followed him. She arrived seconds after her mom started screaming. Laura Wanders was standing on a chair, as if Blanket was a mouse. Robert Wanders was screaming at both his wife, to 'calm down', and at the cat, to 'sit' and 'stay.' Needless to say, Blanket paid him no heed, screeching like a banshee as he scratched at curtains and jumped from window to window. Then he hissed loudly and ran back the way he came, squeezing himself through the space between Mika's feet before she could react, and then sprinting up the stairs.

Ignoring her parents' shouts, Mika followed the cat to her room, where she found it sitting atop her wardrobe.

"What's wrong, Blankie?" she crooned. "Come down here." Blanket only hissed back at her.

_Strange, did something spook him? _she thought. "Did something scare you?" she asked the cat. It just stared at her. _This is just like what happened with the owl, _she thought sullenly. "Don't worry, Blankie, I'm coming to getcha down from there."

She pulled up a chair, climbed it, and reached for the cat. It scratched her. She cursed, and snatched at it. It jumped off wardrobe, but it had nowhere to run – the door was closed. After much scratching and hissing and cursing, Mika managed to catch Blanket and stow him back into his cage. She was already wishing she'd gone with an owl. Or a toad. _Toads have no claws at all, right?_

* * *

Somehow, Hagrid managed to threaten Mika's parents into driving her to King's Cross station and helping her get on the train. Hagrid himself would be too big for the trains, and he didn't want to draw too much attention to himself. He gave Mika her ticket before leaving. It said to board the train on platform 9 and ¾. However, when they got to the train station, there was no platform with that number. They asked around, but people just gave them funny looks. Some even laughed.

"Well, looks like you've been scammed," her father said, a bit too smugly. They were standing between platforms 9 and 10.

"No I haven't!" Mika snapped at him. "It's got to be here somewhere."

"Look, I'm tired of looking around for it. It obviously doesn't exist."

"Yes it does! All these books about magic couldn't be fake, they're here! That means the rest of it is true."

"If you say so," her mother said. "But we're tired. We're going outside. When you're tired of looking, come and we'll go home. But be quick about it, your dad and I need to leave early tomorrow."

Mika watched in disbelief as her parents walked away from her. _What kind of parents leave their daughter alone at a train station? _she fumed. _What if I get kidnapped? _Then she noticed something. A family was walking her way. There were 2 adults, the parents, most likely, and 2 children. Both boys. The younger one looked to be the same age as Mika. Both of the kids pushed baggage trolleys in front of them, and each trolley had a bird cage. In one, Mika glimpsed an owl. _Isn't an owl one of the animals you could take to Hogwarts?_

She decided to follow them, and stepped in behind the dad, who was walking last.

"Hurry, Ron and Hermione are probably waiting for us. You don't want to miss the train," he called to his family.

"Don't worry, Harry, there's lots of time left," his wife said sensibly. "Anyway, if we walked any faster, we'd be running."

Harry grunted in response. Then, they stopped in between two large stone pillars.

"You guys ready?" he asked. "Remember, don't concentrate too – "

"Dad, we know already. You've said it enough times already that its stuck in my head," the oldest son said. "Relax."

Then, he wheeled the trolley till it was facing one of the pillars. He looked around, then bent his head down and raced straight towards the pillar. _Is he crazy? _Mika thought incredulously. _He's going to crash! Why isn't anyone stopping him? _Then, something inexplicably happened. Instead of crashing, he vanished into the stone. Mika stood there, her mouth agape. Before she could recover from the shock, the younger brother also rushed at the column and vanished into it. Their parents looked at each other, smiled and calmly walked into the column, vanishing after their children.

Mika stood still for a few moments, gathering courage. _They went through it, so I can, too, _she reassured herself. Then, before doubt could stop her, she wheeled her trolley around, and closed her eyes, and sped towards the wall. She braced herself for impact. Too early, she was still a few steps away from the pillar. Unable to restrain herself any longer, she opened her eyes, just in time to see the pillar about an inch from her nose. She tried to stop, but her momentum carried her right into the wall, but there was no crush. Instead, she felt a little resistance, and then a strange sensation swept over her. She thought she could hear someone saying, 'What the hell?' behind her, but it was faint, as if she'd imagined it. Moments later, the strange sensation vanished and she could feel a faint draft blowing against her skin.

She opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was a huge signboard that read 'Platform 9 and ¾.' Everywhere she looked, there were parents accompanying excited children. The owls, cats and toads seemed to share their owners' excitement – they hooted, screeched and croaked loudly, making it hard to hear what anyone was saying. The train was there at the platform, letting out chunks of steam. She spotted the family she followed by one of the train cars. They were standing next to a redheaded family. Actually, they weren't all redheads. The woman who appeared to be the mom had dark brown hair. They were talking and laughing.

The train let out another puff of steam, and everyone's movements became a bit more rushed. Mika took a deep breath, and headed towards the train car, keeping a curious eye on the two families. A small girl in the redhead family didn't have any luggage. She looked upset. The older kid from the family she followed – they were all dark haired, except for the mother, who was also a redhead – seemed to be teasing the younger one. It was the younger one Mika was most interested in. He looked almost exactly like his father. They both wore glasses, and had messy hair. He seemed worried. His dad took him aside, crouched by him, and said something, probably trying to reassure him. By then, Mika was by the door. She boarded the train, and lost sight of both families.

She walked along the cars of the train, looking for an empty compartment. After 3 cars with no luck, she decided to settle for an almost empty one. She found one in no time. There was a girl about her age sitting next to the window, staring out at nothing. Mika knocked and opened the door.

'Mind if I sit here?' she asked.

The girl looked at her, shrugged, and went back to staring out the window. Mika found space for her luggage, and then sat and studied the girl. She was maybe an inch taller than Mika, with perfect, flowing golden hair that reached down to her waist. She had round blue eyes and lips that were probably a little too full for someone her age. Mika guessed she was staring at her reflection. _If I looked as good as her, I'd be staring at my reflection, too, _she thought wistfully.

Soon, the train started moving, and the girl finally took her attention away from the window, and realised that Mika was staring at her.

"What's your name?" she asked coolly. Her voice was dreamy and pleasant.

"Mika," Mika said, a little timidly. "Mika Wanders."

"I'm Lena Anderson," she said. There was almost a minute of awkward silence, during which Mika kept staring at the girl. If Mika was going to feel uncomfortable, so was Lena. "My mom's a veela," Lena finally said in an explanatory tone.

"What's a veela?" Mika asked.

Lena's eyes sparkled a bit with curiosity. "You're muggle born, aren't you?" she asked.

"Ummm… maybe. What's a muggle?"

Lena smiled slightly, then said, "Non-magical person."

"Oh… then yeah, I am muggle born."

"Cool. Don't get to meet many muggles," Lena sad, the spark of curiosity in her eyes growing. Then, she blurted out, "Is it true when a muggle gets hurt, you stick needles in them?"

Weird question. "You mean stitches? Of course. The wound won't close by itself, will it?" Mika said incredulously. What kind of person doesn't know about stitches?

"Must be painful," Lena winced. "We just use magic to heal it."

"Wow, cool!" Mika exclaimed. The two spent the rest of the ride talking about their worlds. Mika was amazed when she found out that most wizards didn't know about electricity. Some time later, Mika wasn't sure how much – she didn't like wearing watches, preferred bracelets – a woman passed by selling snacks. Mika and Lena glanced at each other, and bought a little of everything between them. Mika screamed when the chocolate frog she opened hopped out of her hand and hid under the seat. She refused to eat it even after Lena caught it. She found a card in the wrapper. There was a portrait of a wizard with long white hair and a long white beard that disappeared under the picture. He winked at her. Hagrid had told her about how magical pictures move once he saw the portraits on the walls at home, but it was still a little unnerving.

She read the inscription at the bottom of the card aloud: "Albus Dumbledore (1881 to 1997). Considered by many the greatest wizard of his time, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the Dark Wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Prof. Dumbledore enjoyed chamber music and ten-pin bowling."

"You got Dumbledore," Lena said.

"Yeah… What're these for?"

"Nothing really. You just collect them. Got about 4 Dumbledores."

"The people on the cards, are they famous or something?"

"Yeah," Lena said, opening her chocolate frog and biting off its head before it can escape. Then she checked out her card. It was the bespectacled father Mika followed into platform 9 and ¾.

"Who's that?" she asked.

Lena looked up at her. "Harry Potter. You won't be forgetting him, he's the most famous wizard now."

"What did he do?"

"Killed the Dark Lord."

"The… Dark Lord?" Mika asked, swallowing.

"Voldemort," Lena said. Then she sighed and told the story of Harry Potter and how he rid the world of the one who was known to be the darkest wizard that ever lived. By the time she was done, it was dark outside, and the train was starting to slow down.

"Got to change into robes," Lena said. "Almost there."


End file.
